Sharp debuts its Aquos 8K TV, bringing a new meaning to Ultra High-Definition

Japanese TV manufacturer Sharp has unveiled a new Aquos 8K Ultra High-Definition TV at IFA in Berlin. Along with the TV, Sharp has announced a partnership with Foxconn, to develop and deliver an entire 8K ecosystem, from shooting on camera, to editing and eventually broadcast to the TV.

It's not the first time Sharp has produced an 8K TV, but this latest model brings with it a genuine use, seeing as content is in the process of being made to view on it. The Aquos 8K TV will initially launch in Taiwan, Shanghai, Tokyo and Berlin.

Sharp and Foxconn have also announced they plan to test 8K TV with 5G connectivity to "revolutionise education, entertainment, social groups, security, healthcare and more."

With an 8K resolution, Sharp's Aquos TV has 16 times the resolution of full 1080p HD, and claims to produce images virtually indistinguishable from reality. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, which, along with brightness and contrast being automatically set for each frame, should deliver jaw-dropping images.

Of course, with a high-quality screen you would expect a high-quality build, and Sharp's 8K Aquos TV uses aviation-grade aluminium for the frames, lower bar and base stand. A built-in soundbar should provide decent audio too, thanks to three groups of speaker drivers, coupled with two groups of bass woofers and four high-power speakers built into the back of the TV for extra low-end grunt.

Sharp says the TV is perfectly capable of providing a cinema-like sound on its own, without the need for an external sound system, thanks to its Yamaha audio engine and DTS 2.0 technology.

Sharp has yet to put a price on its new screen, but has said it will launch in China this October, Japan in December, Taiwan in February 2018 and Europe in March 2018.